


More Yet to Come

by thisagentreads



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Can't write fluff but I'm trying, Captured, Confused Fitz, Crossover, Dark Dimension, Davis is a Jurassic Park fan, F/F, F/M, Fake Tech Lingo, Fitz is back, FitzSimmons - Freeform, I don't know how computers work, I'm trying here, Keller is a jerk, Magic, Mild Language, Old Lace is precious, Post AoS season 5, Post Runaways season 3, Post-Canon, Precious Molly Hernandez, Sad Daisy, Superheroes, Team as Family, angst-ish, deanoru - Freeform, help there's too many characters, uh sorry if ur fav doesn't get screen time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22729903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisagentreads/pseuds/thisagentreads
Summary: Agents of SHIELD and Runaways crossover. Takes place after Runaways s3 and is an AoS s6 fix it. Anyways, SHIELD is contacted about an anomaly in L.A. and goes to check it out, but they don't expect to find a group of teens and a dinosaur.
Relationships: Agent Davis (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) & Agent Piper, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes, Karolina Dean & Chase Stein, Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 45
Kudos: 100





	1. Welcome to L.A.

Melinda May was having a hell of a day. It began with a call from Nevada about an enhanced, which turned out just to be the after-effects of a radiation leak. She, Yo-yo and the rest of the agents she’d brought were just about to head back to the Lighthouse when they’d received a distress signal from Billy Koenig in Los Angeles. May turned the Zephyr around, and they landed outside L.A. less than an hour later.

  
“Some weird shit has been going on here over the past two months,” Koenig said. “Our equipment’s picked up disturbances before, but this was the biggest one yet. The energy signature is nothing like I’ve ever seen. Our scientists can’t seem to figure it out.”

  
“Can you send the readings to Fitzsimmons? Maybe they’ll know what this means,” May replied.

  
“Will do. The energy has been picked up at a construction site and in Brentwood, but the latest occurrence came from a set of hills just outside the city. Similar things have happened there before, but my scouting teams haven’t fond anything. I don’t know what it could possibly be, there’s nothing there.”

  
“Let’s wait to hear from Fitzsimmons, see what they say,” May replied.

  
“I’ll go now,” Yo-yo said from behind them. “I can search the area quicker than anyone. You know I can.”

  
“You don’t know what you’re up against, maybe we should wait-” Koenig began.

  
“There’s no reason not to, it’s just a search. Nothing’s going to happen.”

  
“But-”

  
“Go ahead,” May interrupted. “You might not find anything, but there’s always a chance. And right now, we need all the information we can get.”

  
Yo-yo smiled and began to walk toward the door, but May stopped her. “Bring a team, just in case. And call HQ before you leave. They need to know what’s happening.” Yo-yo nodded and left the room.

  
“Agent May, are you sure about this? Anything could happen, easily. Whatever we’re up against is dangerous,” Koenig said.

  
“I know. But Yo-yo can handle it, and honestly, she probably would have gone anyways.”

  
“Okay,” Koenig said, clearly defeated. “I’ll go send the stats to Fitzsimmons. I will let you know if they find anything.”

  
“Thank you, Agent,” May said as she left the lab.

  
*****

  
Yo-yo leaned against the wall in the hallway and pulled out her phone, calling the first number on her speed dial.

  
“Mack?”

  
“Hey Yo-yo, how’s the mission?”

  
“Nevada wasn’t anything, we’re in Los Angeles now. Koenig’s been tracking some kind of dark energy, and he needs Fitzsimmons to look at the data. He’s sending it over now.”

  
“I’ll let them know.”

  
“I’m going right now to check out the site, see what I can find. May thinks it’s nothing, but I know something’s there. I can feel it.”

  
“Come back safe, call me when you’re back.”  
“Goodbye Turtle Man.”

Yo-yo hung up and went to collect her team. She wasn’t lying when she told Mack about the site, but she didn’t mention the dark, ominous feeling she had. Something big was going to happen today, and it wasn’t going to be good.

*****  
  


Fitz had been so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice Mack enter the room. It had been a long, confusing couple of months in which Jemma and the others had caught him up on everything that had happened since he’d, well, since he’d been dead. It had been a lot, and honestly, he was still processing. A tap on Fitz’s shoulder woke him from his stupor.

  
“Hey, Turbo,” Mack said. “Just got a call from Yo-yo. They need you and Simmons to analyze an energy signature to let them know what they’re up against.”

  
“Yeah, I- I can do that. Let you know when we get anywhere.”

  
“Thanks,” Mack said as he walked out of the lab. “Good luck!”

  
He pulled up the stats on the computer and got Jemma from the other side of the room. “Mack needs us to look over some readings that Koenig sent over. Some kind of energy signature.”

  
“Oh, we’d best start working then,” Jemma replied. She didn’t mean to sound so dismissive, but things with Fitz were still… strange, to say the least. She couldn’t help but wonder if he thought he was a replacement or a copy. (Although in her heart she knew this wasn’t true.)

  
Fitz pulled up the stats, and Jemma was surprised by what she saw. “I’ve never seen anything like it! Nothing we’ve ever encountered looked remotely like this, did it?”

  
“I know, right?” Fitz typed in a command and brought up a more in-depth report.

  
“Wait, Fitz, look right here,” she said, pointing at the screen.

“That’s why Koenig’s scientists couldn’t figure anything out, they’d been looking at it all wrong. It’s not one signature.”  
“It’s two,” Jemma finished.

*****  
  


Yo-yo entered the main area of the base. She had her team picked out and just needed to find them. She knew May wanted her to bring a full combat team, but she only needed two agents. However, there was only one in the room, and he wasn’t someone Yo-yo would ever choose for her mission.

  
“Keller, where’s Piper and Davis?” she asked the agent curtly.

  
“Uh, kitchen, I think?” he said, startled. Yo-yo didn’t mean to be so blunt, but she couldn’t stand him. It might have been the way he talked down to everyone or the disproportionate amount of respect he seemed to require, but either way, Keller wasn’t someone she needed in her life. Yo-yo nodded and walked toward the base’s kitchen.  
She heard Piper and Davis before she saw them.

  
“You, really? Never would have pegged you as a nerd, let alone for Jurassic Park,” Piper laughed.

  
“Have you seen those dinosaurs?” Davis replied. “Jurassic World made me want one.”

  
“Well, Boss might kick you out for that, but I’m with you.”

  
Yo-yo knocked on the doorframe, and the two turned to look at her. They were sitting on bar stools and drinking water bottles.

  
“Yo-yo!” Piper said. “Didn’t see you there. What’s up?” she asked, noting the look on Yo-yo’s face.

  
“You guys are coming with me to check out a site in the hills. The scanners detected some sort of unknown energy,” Yo-yo said. “We leave in twenty.”

  
“On it, we’ll be there,” Piper mumbled to Yo-yo, who had already left the room.

  
“Well, that was cryptic,” Davis said. “Something really weird must be going on.” He finished his water and looked up at the ceiling. “You know Piper, it could be a dinosaur.”

  
“Davis, as cool as that would be, I’d better not see a dinosaur today.” Piper stood up and walked over to the door. “Come on, we have places to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited for formatting


	2. Davis Doesn't Get a Pet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yo-yo, Piper, and Davis discover something huge on their mission, no pun intended, and Daisy shows up. We're getting the team back together!

Davis stopped the car at the base of Hollywood Hills. “According to Koenig, the source is up the hill, but I can’t exactly drive the car up there,” he said.

“You two search up the path,” Yo-yo said, pointing above them. “I’ll take everywhere else. Have your icers ready, we don’t know what could be out there.” She took out her gun and stuck another round in her back pocket. 

“Will do,” Piper responded. Yo-yo’s team was prepared, so she trudged up the ridge alone, leaving Piper and Davis at the bottom.

“So, I guess we go then?” Davis asked. 

“Yep,” Piper said. She loaded her icer and the two started to make their way up the path.

*****

Yo-yo had been searching for almost an hour and hadn’t found anything unusual yet. However, she had visited the Hollywood sign, so that was something. From her location at the top, she could run to the edge of the area in any direction in less than a second. But even with super speed, the mission seemed to be pointless. Sighing, she decided to walk back to the van a different way, just in case. 

A few minutes into her descent, she came across a grate in the hill. She’d encountered it during her search, of course, but didn’t think it was strange enough to possibly explain what was happening. But now that she saw it up close, it occurred to her that she could have been wrong. After all, why would someone bother to build a grate into the side of a mountain, and why would it be large enough for several people to climb through?

Yo-yo grabbed the sides of the grate with her metal fingers and pulled. Much to her surprise, it came away easily. The screws were still in the grate, but the holes in the base were stripped of their ridges, meaning someone else had been here before, someone strong enough to pull a 50-pound piece of metal and 10 heavy-duty screws out of the side of a mountain.

Behind the opening was a dark tunnel, a floor of splintered wood, but Yo-yo could see a dim, warm glow coming from the end. She pointed her icer ahead and was about to enter when a loud roar pierced the calm hills, followed by loud cursing from Piper. Yo-yo took one last look a the tunnel and started running.

*****

Piper was bored. Sure, it was great to get out of the base, but this was pointless. She and Davis had been inspecting grass and rocks for way longer than anyone ever should. She was hot, tired, and just wanted to go back. 

“Hey, Davis,” she said, “let’s go back to the car. I’m done.”

“Thank God,” he breathed. “I didn’t know L.A. would be so frickin hot.” They started the trek back to the car, and Piper was so tired and relieved that she didn’t notice Davis stop in front of her. She ran into him and looked ahead to see the reason why he had stopped.

“Holy shit,” she said, so low it was almost a whisper. On the path in front of them, two scaly clawed feet dragged across the dirt. Muscled legs carried a heavy body with short arms and a long tail. Piercing orange eyes stared at Piper and a silver nose ring reflected the waning sunlight. The creature’s mouth opened to reveal a row of sharp, yellow teeth, and bellowed out a long roar. 

“Holy shit,” Piper repeated, much louder this time. “Shit, Davis, shit. When I said I didn’t want to see a dinosaur today, I meant it.” They pointed their icers at the dinosaur and started firing, but it wasn’t going down. It lumbered closer, its steps becoming increasingly unsteady, but it wasn’t stopping. The dino was now only a few hundred yards away when they ran out of ammo. 

“Piper, it was nice knowing you,” Davis said.

“You too. I didn’t think being eaten by a raptor was how I was going to go, but it had to happen sometime.”

The dinosaur was almost to them when it fell forward, its legs stopped in the dirt. When the dinosaur hit the ground, dust flew up, covering everyone and everything in the vicinity.   
“Wow,” Yo-yo said from inside the dust cloud. “That’s a big lizard.” She dropped the dinosaur’s tail, which she had used to stop it, and fired the contents of her icer at its head. The dino groaned and then passed out, the side of its face a fading blue from the dendrotoxin. 

“Okay, now that I’m not in danger of dying anymore,” Piper said, still breathing heavily,” what the hell was that?”

“I don’t know, Yo-yo replied. “For now, let’s report back to H.Q., but we need to call in the rest of the team.” 

*****

“Okay, on my way,” Mack said, and then hung up the phone. May had been cryptic in her call, only saying that Yo-yo had found something and they needed all hands on deck in Los Angeles. Mack went to the lab first to see if Fitzsimmons had discovered anything important.

“Hey,” Mack said to Fitz and Simmons, who were huddled around a monitor. “You found anything yet?”

“Not exactly-” Simmons began.

“Yes,” Fitz said. Mack looked at him, curious. “Well, not really, but it’s a start.”

“It’s actually multiple signatures layered over each other, but we haven’t found a way to track them individually yet,” Simmons added. 

“Can you figure it out on the way?” Mack asked. “They need us in L.A.”

“Uh, yeah, we can do that, right?” Fitz responded, looking at Jemma. 

“Yes, we just need time to pack up the equipment, shouldn’t take too long,” she said.

“Great. Meet you on the Quinjet when you’re done.” Mack then left the lab, leaving Fitzsimmons to puzzle over what he had said.

“What’s happening?” Jemma asked Fitz rhetorically. “We’ve been given limited information for missions before, but nothing’s ever been this vague.”

“I don’t know, but based on personal experience, it can’t be good.”

*****

Mack found Daisy in her bunk. She was re-reading the letter Coulson left yet again and had obviously been crying, judging from the tear tracks on her face. Mack knocked on the doorframe, and when she saw him, she tried to compose herself. 

“Hey,” she said, putting on a faltering smile. “Did you hear back from May and Yo-yo yet?”

“I did, and that’s why I came, but I’m also here to see a friend.”

“I- I’m fine I guess.”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t look fine,” Mack said, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to her.

“I just really miss him. I thought I was better, but today everything just hit me again. I keep trying to let go, and honestly just try to forget it all, but it will never really go away.”

“No. It won’t,” Mack said, pausing afterward. “I know this is the last thing I should be advocating for, but I have a distraction if you need it.”

“What is it?”

“She was really cryptic about it, but May said Yo-yo found something big in Los Angeles. They need us to go help. Fitzsimmons is already on the jet if you want to come.” 

Daisy didn’t respond so Mack assumed she was going to say no. She drew in one last rattly breath, and said, “When do we leave?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates on this will probably be fairly frequent but I probably won't do ridiculously long chapters. I am a high school student, so I can't guarantee anything, but I love this story and want to continue it.


	3. No Hot Cheetos for Molly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> S.H.I.E.L.D. gears up for the mission and the Runaways have a game night, which, as per usual, ends in disaster. Runaways is on Hulu and Disney+ in the U.S. if you haven't watched it yet!

“Let me get this straight,” Daisy said. “You were tracking an unknown energy signature and it led you to a freaking dinosaur?”

“Yeah, that pretty much covers it,” Yo-yo responded. They were seated around a table in the meeting room in the L.A. base. Daisy, Mack, and Fitzsimmons had arrived for debriefing about half an hour before, and Yo-yo told them everything, with a little help from Piper and Davis. 

“I know we’ve seen some weird crap before, but this is some really weird crap,” Daisy said.

“When you say dinosaur, what do you mean?” Simmons asked. “Could it have been a mutated lizard, or-”

“Oh, no, this was a dinosaur,” Davis replied. “It looked like one of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park, could’ve come right off of a movie screen.” Piper rolled her eyes at his comment.

“Well, that’s a common misconception, the raptors in the movies are based off the deinonychus. The author just thought ‘raptor” sounded better,” Fitz said. “Actual raptors were only about three feet tall.” He put his hand just below the table height.

Everyone in the meeting room adopted a similarly bewildered expression. “My life is a lie,” Davis whispered.

“Okay, that is an oddly specific piece of information,” Daisy said.

“We took a paleontology course at the Academy and the velociraptor-deinonychus discrepancy was one of the many strange topics our instructor felt necessary to highlight,” Jemma explained. No one responded.

“Anyways,” Mack started, ending the awkward silence that had fallen over the room, “we need to figure out exactly what the hell is happening. Fitzsimmons, have you made any progress?”

“Yes, actually,” Jemma said. “We managed to separate the energy signatures. One is just pure, concentrated light, but the other… I don’t know how to describe it. It’s powerful, and definitely not from this Earth.”

“You’re saying it could be alien?” Daisy asked.

“That is the prevailing theory, yes.”

“And,” Fitz said as he pulled out a tablet from his bag, “we can track both separately now. I’ll start up the program.”

“Great,” Mack said. “When we get a read, May, Daisy, and Yo-yo will lead the field team in order to observe and possibly combat the threat if necessary. Remember, we want to get this over with quickly and hopefully without conflict, so don’t fire unless provoked.” The agents in attendance nodded silently.

“Uh, Mack, I’ve got it,” Fitz said. He projected the map on his tablet onto the meeting room’s wall screen. “Both energies are currently being projected from the same location as before, by the Griffith Observatory.”

“That’s where the grate was,” Yo-yo recalled. “I saw a light in the hole, so whatever this is could be inside the mountain.”

“Anything’s possible,” Jemma added.

“Alright,” Mack said. “Suit up. We roll out in ten.”

*****

It had been two months since Morgan le Fay had been defeated, and since then life had been pretty good for the Runaways. The parents had finally agreed to leave the kids alone, GertChase and Deanoru were still going strong (although Molly had been told that giving her friends ship names was weird), and they’d almost been able to forget the other Chase bleeding out on the floor before he faded. And Nico couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she’d seen something that night too. A whisper in the back of her head telling her to stay and her own face, mostly clear of makeup, staring back at her. She knew, logically, that it was probably just a dream, but she felt that it was something more. However, none of that mattered at the moment because it was game night at the Hostel. They were playing Settlers of Catan, which no one other than Alex actually enjoyed, but it was his night to choose. Nico was shuffling the deck when she heard a faint metallic screech. She looked up to see if anyone else had noticed, but they were busy laughing at Molly, who had discovered the combination of vegetarian pizza and Takis.

“Hey,” Karolina said, seeing Nico’s puzzled expression. She put her arm around her girlfriend. “What is it?”  
“Probably nothing, just thought I heard something.”

“Okay, you’d tell me if something was wrong though?” Karolina gave her a worried smile.

“Yeah, yeah, of course.”

“Good. I’m going to go get more pizza unless Molly ate it all.” Nico watched Karolina walk away and shook off the feeling that something was wrong. After all, she was probably just imagining it, just like the dream where she saw herself.

*****

“No, you can’t do that!” Gert chided Alex after he played the monopoly card for all the wheat in the game.   
“Actually, you’ll find that I can,” Alex said as he adopted a smug smile.

“Not what I meant,” she mumbled in reply. 

Alex laid down a stack of cards, enough for a city, and flipped over his victory point card, and looked at his friends. “Ten points. Pay up!” Molly grumbled but passed him the singular bag of Hot Cheetos. Chase was supposed to get enough for all of them at the store that morning but had “forgotten,” probably because Gert went with him. Molly glowered at Alex as he ate the Cheetos, slowly untwisting the cap to her Sprite. 

“Okay,” Chase said, breaking the tense atmosphere of the room. “What now?”

“I don’t know, but I’m getting worried about Old Lace, she usually isn’t gone this long,” Gert said, looking toward the exit.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, Gert, she can handle herself,” Karolina assured Gert from her spot on the couch next to Nico. 

“But what if she’s not?” Nico said as she stood up from her spot. She walked across the Hostel’s entryway toward the grate they used as a door. The others looked at each other, all equally confused but followed her. When they reached the end of the hall, they found the grate on the ground and bootprints in the dirt.

“Oh, oh no. We’re been found. Everything was perfect but now-” Gert breathing grew heavier. 

“Shit!” Chase kicked the grate but quickly regretted it when he slipped on a slick spot from the rain that morning. It didn’t rain often in L.A., but the water collected in the area right outside the Hostel. On the ground, he could see the grate better. The difference was slight, but some of the rungs were misshapen and bent. He stood up and flipped the grate over.

“Does that look like what I think it does?” Nico asked.

“Those are hand-marks,” Alex said. He bent down to examine it and grabbed onto the damaged rungs. 

“To do that someone would have to be really strong, as strong as me,” Molly said.

“Could’ve been Captain America,” Chase commented.

“Or Thor,” Alex added.

“Guys, whoever it was, they’re a problem. They know where we live now, and I bet they’ll come back,” Nico began. “We have to be ready when they do, but first we have to find Old Lace. If anyone figures out there’s a dinosaur running loose in L.A., we’re going to have a lot bigger issues.”

The kids stepped over the grate and started up the hill. They hadn’t been walking long when Gert sat down on the ground. “We’re never going to find her like this.”

“You’re right,” Nico replied. She took the Staff of One off the clip on her back and winced as it pricked her finger. The staff powered up, growing almost as tall as Nico and glowing a bright white-blue. “Find Old Lace!” A strand of light appeared and led toward the right. The kids jogged after it and found their dinosaur down a hill and over the crest of another. Old Lace lay on her side, the grass around her trampled and torn. Gert ran over to the deinonychus, the others quickly following.

“Is she okay? Is she dead?” Gert asked frantically.

“She’s breathing,” Chase said, wrapping his arms around her. “Molly, can you pick Lace up?”

“I got this.” Molly closed her eyes, and when she opened them her pupils were ringed with yellow-orange. She walked over to Old Lace and picked her up like she weighed nothing. “Let’s go.” The kids were about to leave when a loud projected voice rang out across the hills. 

“This is S.H.I.E.L.D. Stand down immediately, repeat, we order you to stand down.” Agents swarmed up over the hill, surrounding the Runaways. 

“Well,” Chase said, “we’re screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently obsessed with dinosaurs, so that's where Fitz's oddly specific information about dinosaurs comes from. I meant to put more content into this chapter, but the Runaways are just so fun to write! The scene with the game is taken from my own experience, and Settlers is an awesome game btw.


	4. The Runaways Fight Nazis?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's here, the big battle scene. But of course, with the Runaways and S.H.I.E.L.D., it's never that easy.

When Yo-yo led the team over the crest of the hill, she expected to see a powerful inhuman, a futuristic machine, or maybe even an alien. What she did not anticipate was six scared teenagers, one carrying a dinosaur and another holding a glowing staff. She held out her hand, telling the forces to stop. Yo-yo walked forward, hoping to talk to the kids and prevent a fight before it started. “We won’t hurt you, we just have to talk,” she said.

“Oh, is that why you came with all the soldiers and guns?” the purple-haired girl quipped.

“It’s just a precaution,” Yo-yo replied. “It’s just in case things get messy, which in my experience happens a lot.”

The kids were still wary, especially the girl with the staff, but they hadn’t attacked yet so that was a good sign. Maybe this mission wouldn’t be so hard after all.

*****

The agent with the silver hands said she wasn’t a threat, but Nico had heard all that before. She didn’t lower the staff and turned to Alex. “What should we do?”

“I don’t really want to fight, but we have no choice,” Alex said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “We can’t let them take us in, and they already know where we live.” 

Nico stepped forward to cast a spell, but Karolina stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Wait, not yet,” Karolina turned to the agent, and asked, “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I’m Elena Rodriguez with S.H.I.E.L.D. and we just want to help,” the agent said.

“S.H.I.E.L.D, like Hydra, Nazis, when D.C. blew up?” Alex asked

Rodriguez rolled her eyes like she’d heard it before. “Well, yes, but not exactly. Anyways, there’s something strange happening in these hills, and so far our only lead is you,” she replied. “We need to make sure it’s not a threat.”

Nico pushed past Karolina and stood at the front. “Well, no shit, and you’re not taking us anywhere!” She turned to her friends, silently asking them what to do. They all gave her determined, supportive looks. 

“We’re with you,” Karolina said softly. 

Nico nodded and turned back to face Rodriguez. “If you want to take us in, then you have to take us down first.”

*****

The last thing May wanted was to fight kids, especially after Bahrain, but she knew she had no choice. “If there's a fight, icers only,” she ordered over the comms. May drew her icer and the agents around her did the same. Taking the kids down should have been easy, but then something else happened that May didn’t expect. When the kids saw the guns, they reacted in a way she’d never seen. When the younger girl set down the dinosaur and turned toward May, her eyes glowing. One of the boys took a pair of metal gauntlets from his backpack and the tall blonde girl rose into the sky, shining pink, blue, yellow, and every color in between.

“Holy-” breathed the agent standing next to May.

"You have permission to fire,” May commanded. The agents fired, but the kids had already sprung into action. 

“Barrier!” the girl with the staff yelled, and a bluish shield protected the group. Yo-yo had seen a lot of strange things, but this was new. What was she, a witch? One bullet made it past the barrier and hit the girl with the glowing eyes. She stumbled but didn’t go down, curling her fists, her mouth spread into a sly smile.

“That’s not good,” Yo-yo said, stepping forward tentatively.

“No guns here!” With the witch’s second spell, the icers flew out of the agents’s hands and the back of the SUVs. May watched her gun disappear down the side of the hill. They were going to have to try a new tactic.

“Daisy, Yo-yo, prepare to engage,” May told them over the comms.

“Copy that,” Daisy replied. She sent out a shock wave that knocked the kids on the ground over and let down the barrier. The rainbow girl was still in the air, but Daisy could worry about that later. Or not. A blast of bright light came hurtling toward her, and she had to roll to avoid it. Daisy ducked behind a pile of rocks for cover and sent shock waves over her shoulder. Rainbow light came at the rocks and the boy with the gauntlets joined her, sending bolts of energy. Daisy couldn’t risk being hit, so she remained behind the rocks, hoping one of her quakes would hit.

Yo-yo barely acknowledged that Daisy was down and ran forward with her super-speed to grab the staff from the witch’s grasp. When she snapped back, the staff shrunk and the light faded. It sent out a jolt, probably meant to prevent others from using it, but didn’t do anything to Yo-yo’s metal grip. The girl stood back up, her hand outstretched. Yo-yo felt the staff pulling but she but didn’t let go. 

*****

Gert and Alex kneeled next to Old Lace, trying to wake her up. They knew they were no help in a fight against trained government agents, but Old Lace would be. However, whatever she was drugged with had to be strong, because Lace showed no signs of waking up. She just kept snoring. “Alex, what do we do?” Gert asked.

“There’s nothing we can do. We just have to hope that our friends can win.”

Nico tried to summon the staff back, but Rodriguez was strong, probably due to her silver hands. To get her staff back, Nico had to go get it. “Molly, cover me.” Molly nodded and followed Nico, but leaving space for her to fight. 

Nico took a deep breath and ran forward. She tried to kick Rodriguez in the stomach, but she moved fast. Almost too fast. Nico was met with a metal fist coming at her face, but she ducked just in time. Nico tried to strike again, but she was stopped by cold metal fingers on her wrist. Nico tried to release herself, but Rodriguez’s grip was too tight. She struggled and tried to reach the staff but Rodriguez held it out of her grasp. “Molly, help!”

*****

When Yo-yo saw the girl with the yellow eyes, Molly, running at her, she picked up the witch and threw her a few feet. Not hard enough to seriously hurt her of course, but enough to keep her away while Yo-yo combatted her new assailant.

“No, Nico!” When the rainbow girl turned to look at the kid Yo-yo had thrown to the ground, Daisy knew she had found her shot. She came out from behind the rocks and sent a shock wave at the two kids, knocking the glowing girl from the sky and pushing the boy with the gauntlets to the ground. Daisy sent a concentrated blast at the gloves to make sure he couldn’t use them again. But the rainbow menace was back and Daisy knew she wouldn’t go down easy. She stood up tall and prepared to fight.

Yo-yo had just seen Molly lift a dinosaur, but she didn’t expect the kid to hit so hard. She stumbled backward from the punch Molly had just thrown at her. It hadn’t hurt because of her cybernetic hands, but she had been forced backward. As Yo-yo attempted to regain her balance, her grip on the staff slipped. Nico, the witch, summoned it and turned toward the rainbow girl and Daisy, who were firing at each other. 

“Blast!” the girl yelled. A ray of black-violet darkness sprung from the staff. It twisted and writhed through the air, and the witch started screaming. Molly and Yo-yo turned to see what was going to happen. The darkness met rainbow light and Daisy’s shockwave, absorbing them into itself. Both Daisy and the glowing girl stopped firing, eyes wide, fear evident on the girl’s face. The darkness shrunk, and Yo-yo thought they were safe, but she was thrown back by an invisible force. Then the darkness grew, and an icy chill settled over the hilltop.

*****

Nico had felt the darkness rising in her chest, threatening to break free. She had thought defeating Morgan would fix her, but as was usual with Nico, she had no such luck. She hadn’t told anyone, not even Karolina, because admitting it to them would mean admitting it to herself, and she hadn’t been ready for that yet. The staff had been used sparingly since she realized the darkness was still with her, but now she had no choice. 

Her family was in trouble.

Karolina was in trouble.

So Nico let it all out, all her anger, all her fear, every scrap of dark power she had in her. She could feel dark cracks forming under her eyes and black lines running down her arms. A scream rang out, and Nico realized it was hers. She tried to stop, but her power wouldn’t let her, it wanted more. It took all the energy it could get, and when that wasn’t enough, it tore through the barrier between the worlds. Nico was scared that it would never stop, but then the darkness hit a wall, a barrier, and it was pushed back. Nico stumbled. Everyone else on the hill fell over, stunned by the sudden shockwave, but Nico stood her ground. She pushed back. When she looked up, the darkness was still there, swirling in a circle growing larger by the second. She could feel something else though. Something cold and even darker than herself. 

The darkness grew lighter, illuminated by a warm glow from within, from the something Nico couldn’t see. The light grew brighter, and a face emerged from the darkness, or more accurately, a skull. A skull on fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to have this chapter include more content, but I love writing Nico's internal monologue too much. Writing fight scenes sucks so please don't judge me too much.


	5. In Which Everyone Says Hell at Least Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the battle, Karolina worries, Old Lace sleeps, and Nico has a very disturbing dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've updated and this chapter is really short, but I have a huge school project that's really stressing me out so I probably won't have much time to write for a few weeks.

“Oh my God, Robbie?” Daisy exclaimed. She hadn’t seen Robbie since he’d taken the Darkhold back to Hell and, quite frankly, hadn’t expected to see him again. She stepped forward, mostly to ask what the hell was going on, but Robbie was running. Daisy couldn’t see the threat but it had to be bad if Ghost Rider was running away from it. The portal expanded, and something flew out. It was a bird- no wait- a bat. It seemed harmless, but with S.H.I.E.L.D., she had learned that most things weren’t what they seemed. Daisy got her answer a few seconds later. It started with the sound of wings, growing louder and louder until a swarm of the bats emerged from the portal.

Robbie turned around at the end of the hilltop and began shooting fire at the bats. “Daisy, help!” She turned her hands to the sky and sent up vibrations but it didn’t do much, there were too many.

“Hey, glowstick?” Daisy asked the rainbow girl, who had run over to Nico the moment she collapsed and was now cradling the unconscious witch in her arms. “I know we were just fighting, but I could use your help.” The girl stood up, carefully setting Nico’s head on the ground, and lit up. She fired several blasts of light at the swarm and was rewarded with a few of the creatures falling from the sky. However, the bats were already receding into the distance.

“Crap,” Daisy said, kicking the dirt. She walked over to Robbie, whose face had rematerialized. Yo-yo and May soon joined them. “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I had just sent the Darkhold as far into Hell as I could when the portal materialized.”

“It took you a year to get rid of that book?” Yo-yo asked dubiously.

“It was a long trip. And time works differently on the other side,” Robbie retorted. “Anyways, I went through the portal, as you can see. But those things followed me, I don’t know where they came from or what they are, I just know that they’re not good. But I don’t blame them. God, I’ve missed this dimension,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Wait,” he started, looking around. “Are we in L.A.?”

“Yes,” Daisy responded, smiling. She’d met Robbie here. He had tied her up and broke her arm here too, but that was in the past. 

“I didn’t do this, so who did?” Robbie asked.

“Them,” Daisy said, pointing to the kids. They were clustered around the dinosaur, which was beginning to wake up. The purple-haired girl stroked the dino’s snout and the other kids sat clustered around the creature, the witch leaning heavily on the rainbow girl’s shoulder. 

Robbie strode toward the group. “What the hell did you do?”

*****

Karolina was sitting on the ground, leaning back against Old Lace, running her fingers through Nico’s hair, wishing she’d wake up. The longer she was still the more worried Karolina became. Did Nico know the darkness had come back, and if she did, why didn’t she tell her? 

Alex looked around the hill and tapped his hand on his knee nervously. Three agents were talking to the fire-skull-person nearby. There were at least fifteen soldiers on the hill, not to mention the two powered agents, and there could be even more down the slope. If they were going to get out of this, they needed Nico. 

Gert absently brushed her hand down Lace’s snout, the constant rise and fall of the dinosaur’s body keeping her sane. Chase sat down next to her. “Hey.” Gert gave him a forced smile, but he knew better than to accept that. “What is it? I mean, I know this sucks, but what else is it?”

“I felt like I’d finally found where I was supposed to be,” she replied shakily. “The aliens and Morgan were gone, and it was just us. Why-” her voice broke. “Why can’t we just have one good day?”

“Gert,” Chase said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “We’re going to figure this out, I promise.” They sat in silence until they heard a low growl.

“Oh, Lacey, you’re awake,” Gert breathed. 

Molly had been standing in front of the group protectively, but when she heard Gert she turned around and smiled. “She’s okay!” she said as she crouched down. 

Nico groaned at Molly’s energetic response. “Too loud,” she mumbled. “Just five more minutes.”

“Nico! You’re awake!” Karolina beamed, relieved.

Nico burrowed into Karolina’s stomach. “I said five more minutes Kar.”

“I know, but you have to wake up.” Nico sat up carefully with Karolina’s help and looked around the hill. 

“What happened?”

“What do you remember?” Karolina asked. 

“She threw me over there, and then, I don’t know, it’s a little fuzzy.” Nico stopped and her eyes widened. She’d said those words before, and last time she’d almost killed her dad. “Oh, oh no. What did I do?” Karolina didn’t respond. “Kar, tell me, what did I do?”

“Well-”

“Guys,” Alex said. “You’re going to happen to table that conversation. We have a problem.” The man who’d come out of the portal was coming toward them, and he did not look happy. “Nico, can you get us out of here?”

“Probably.” Karolina was about to protest, but they had no other choice. She had to trust Nico. “Where are we going?”

“Well, we need a place to lay low and probably some help for Old Lace. Gert, we should go to your parents' house.” Alex already knew how Gert would react, but he couldn’t think of any other option.

“No! I know they’re not the bad guys anymore, but said I would never go back there.”

“Gert,” Chase began. “There’s no time. We have to go.” 

“What the hell did you do?” The man stood in front of them now. He had fire in his eyes, although not actual flames anymore. He was tall and imposing, his leather jacket torn. 

“Nico, now!” Alex yelled.

“Safehouse!” The kids and Old Lace were surrounded by light, and then they disappeared, only leaving behind a dinosaur-shaped imprint in the grass.

*****

Nico was dreaming, or at least she hoped she was. She was in a long corridor. It was cold and dark, the only light coming from a doorway at the end of the hall. A dark figure stood in the light. “Oh, Nico,” the figure said. It sounded like a woman’s voice, although Gert would tell her off if she heard Nico say that. 

“What do you want?”

“You’re scared,” she said. Her accent was American, although there was a hint of something else too, Eastern European maybe? “Did you really think the darkness you hold came from Morgan? Your power never came from her, you draw it from the Dark Dimension itself. Just like I do.”

“How… how did you know? And who the hell are you?”

“You know what, I think that your little girlfriend was right. Your darkness is you, Nico.” The light clicked off and Nico was left alone in the dark.


	6. S.H.I.E.L.D Commits a Misdemeanor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breaking and entering is in fact a misdemeanor, but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s already a terrorist organization, so what the hell?

The Runaways and their dinosaur materialized in the Yorkeses’ living room in a tempest, thrashing violet and black. The portal closed and Nico fell to the ground, the staff dropping from her hand. Karolina caught her before her head hit the ground and laid her softly on the floor. Old Lace was awake and full of energy and Gert attempted to calm her down before she broke something. Molly, tired from powering up, curled up on the armchair and fell asleep.

“Chase, can you clear off the couch for me?” Karolina asked, glancing at the sleeping Nico next to her and the mass of expensive pillows on the couch. 

“Yeah.” He unceremoniously threw all the pillows off the couch except for one, which he placed at the top for Nico’s head. 

“No, Lace! Put it down!” Gert ordered the dinosaur, who was chewing on one of the throw pillows. After seeing Gert’s disapproving look, Old Lace dropped the pillow, already severed tassels dropping from her mouth.

Karolina scooped Nico up in her arms, which was relatively easy considering how small and skinny she was. Karolina set her down and turned to face the rest of the group.

Dale and Stacey ran down the stairs, presumably because of Gert’s loud yelling. “What?” Dale asked, trailing off as he looked at the scene before him. Nico and Molly were both sleeping, Karolina kept looking back at Nico, Old Lace had found another pillow which Gert was trying to get her to let go of, Alex was frantically typing on the Yorkeses’ computer, and Chase was just standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“Hey, I found something,” Alex said, not acknowledging Dale and Stacey’s presence. 

“What is it?” Chase walked over to Alex, glad to have something other to do than stare down his girlfriend’s parents.

“So remember that woman, the one with the metal arms, Agent Rodriguez or something? She said she was with S.H.I.E.L.D., which I discounted because S.H.I.E.L.D.’s supposed to be gone. But I looked into it. In 2014 there was the whole D.C. mess, hail Hydra and all that, and then S.H.I.E.L.D. was re-established in 2016 after the other mess in Germany. 

However, it was branded as a terrorist organization again the next year.”

“But we knew that already, everyone does,” Chase replied.

“Yeah, but remember Daisy Johnson, the inhuman agent who robbed a bunch of banks and tried to kill an army general?” The looks Alex received were confused and quizzical, but Karolina’s eyes widened.

“Was that…”

“Oh yes. And this is Agent Rodriguez,” he said, pulling up a picture of a Latina woman. “Elena Rodriguez, she’s another inhuman from Columbia and was caught trying to bug anti-inhuman Senator Ellen Nadeer’s office while new-S.H.I.E.L.D. was active. The arms are new though. I mean, that tech is almost as good as the-”

“Alex,” Karolina said, preventing what was going to be an in-depth nerd rant she did not need to hear. “What’s the point here?”

“And,” Stacey added, “what is happening.”

“Still trying to figure that bit out,” Alex replied. “But, I found something really weird.” He tapped the keyboard and opened another picture, this time of a man in a suit and aviators glasses. “This is Phil Coulson. He died in 2012, but I found pictures of him taken after he died. So unless they’re hiring people to photoshop a conspiracy theory, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dealing with some crazy shit, and I really want to find out what it is.”

The room fell silent, everyone reeling from Alex’s findings, until Dale spoke up again. “Can I have an explanation please, because I understood none of that?”

*****

The kids were long gone. Yo-yo scanned the entire hill, but there was no sign of them. She sprang back to the top of the hill again, out of breath. “I didn’t find anything, but we should go check out the place I found earlier, the tunnel over there,” Yo-yo breathed, gesturing to where she’d found the grate.

“I guess I forgot about that, with there being a dinosaur and a glowing teenager and all,” Daisy said. May gestured at the other agents to stand watch on the hill, and she, Daisy, Yo-yo, and Robbie walked over to the grate. Daisy stopped. “Robbie, here,” she said, handing him an extra icer. 

“But I don’t-”

“Just in case. The other guy isn’t the most inconspicuous thing in the world. Robbie took the icer reluctantly and the group entered the tunnel.

The tunnel was the same as it was earlier, but the light at the end shone brighter without sunlight at their backs. Daisy led the way, her hand outstretched, ready just in case the tunnel held any more surprises. The group emerged in what seemed to be an entryway, although there wasn’t a front door. The entire place gave off a feel of wealth and beauty that had been lost to the passage of time. The grand staircase was worn and graffitied and the fallen chandelier was coated in cobwebs. If not for the food and board games on the table, Daisy would have thought the house was abandoned. However, a more in-depth look around the room revealed a well-maintained tech system, new pillows, and a pile of laundry in the corner.

“I’m going to go look through the computer, see if I can find something. Search the rest of the house, we’ll regroup in this room. I have no idea how big this place is,” Daisy said, walking over the tech corner. The computers and monitors were ancient but appeared to be grafted with some newer technology as well. Daisy sat down in the chair next to the computer and powered the device on. While she waited, she scanned the room. There was a rolling cart with three shelves, which probably held four or five monitors, plus a video player and an old clock. Behind the main monitor was another shelf with several more monitors and a TV. There were more shelves to her right, and God, how much tech did these kids need? Daisy also saw several PC games and controllers, a super bulky microwave, and more than a few radios. The computer beeped and prompted her for a login. She tried to get in, but whoever coded it was good. There was no point trying to access the information at the house; it would take too long and she had better things to do anyway. Daisy downloaded the computer’s data onto a flash drive and stuck it in her pocket. Then she heard a gunshot. She ran to go see what had happened.

*****

After Daisy went over to the computer, May, Yo-yo, and Robbie were left standing at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll take this floor,” Robbie said before walking around the corner. He really needed some time to think. His time Dark Dimension had not been good for his mental health. Between dodging manifestations of his worst fears, avoiding being dragged down further, and becoming more paranoid by the second, he hadn’t been at rest since the last time he’d been in this dimension. 

He entered a room with a table and chairs, a dining room. Dirty dishes had been left on the table, and Robbie was reminded of his teenage years and, oh God, Gabe. Robbie hadn't seen him in over a year. Gabe must’ve assumed he was dead when he didn’t come home. Robbie promised himself he would go see Gabe once this was all over. 

Off the dining room was a dark hallway. Robbie walked down it, taking the gun Daisy gave him out of his pocket and ready to light up just in case. He turned the corner and saw eyes staring back at him. He walked forward carefully, not looking away from whoever was lurking in the dark. His foot caught on something and he fell. He shot the icer as he went down, but the shot missed, hitting the back wall. Now only inches from the eyes, he realized they weren’t those of a person but a demonic stuffed bunny. In fact, the whole room was filled with strange items. He saw a mace, a poster that said ‘Quinton the Great’ across it, and oh God, was that blood on the guillotine? 

“Robbie, you good?” Daisy asked, nearly tripping over him. Robbie stood up quickly, hitting his head on a puppet hanging from a rope. 

“Ow,” he said, even though it didn’t hurt at all.

“Oh.” Daisy had noticed the devil bunny. “Who the hell would make that? That’s awful.” She paused, trying to remember what she was going to say. “Oh, have you found anything interesting. 

“Other than that, no, not really. But being here, it just reminded me of my old life. Do you know… do you know how Gabe is?”

“Yeah, I just checked up on him a couple weeks ago. He’s doing great, he’s actually looking at colleges.”

“Really.”

“Yeah. He does miss you though. I hope you don’t mind that I told him you weren’t dead.”

Robbie gave Daisy a half-smile. “I appreciate it.” He paused, like he was about to say something else, but then stopped himself. 

Daisy interrupted the silence. “If there’s nothing here, we should go help look upstairs.” Robbie nodded and the two miraculously managed to get out of the hallway without tripping or knocking something over. 

*****

Yo-yo had turned into what she thought was a linen closet, but it turned out to be another bedroom. May was already seeing what she could find in the other two upstairs bedrooms they had found. The walls not covered by shelves were a hot pink, illuminated by lamps and rainbow fairy lights. Most of the decoration was brightly colored, including a variety of knitted cat ear hats that were spread throughout the room. However, there was nothing to indicate that the person who occupied the room was anything more than a teenager that lived in a secret mansion inside of a hill. Yo-yo sighed and exited the room. 

Honestly, the house was a mess. There were piles of dirt in the corner and trees growing through the walls. Yo-yo wondered how the kids could have lived here for an extended period of time and not died. 

May emerged from the short hallway across the balcony, holding a piece of paper and a book in her hand. Yo-yo met her at the landing. 

“Found these in the bedroom over there,” she said, handing the book to Yo-yo. 

“The Book of… Gibborum? Isn’t that the-” Yo-yo started, letting out a short laugh.

“Ridiculous religion started in L.A.? Yeah.” 

“Don’t they worship, like light bulbs or something?”

“I don’t know. But this drawing was with it,” May said, holding up the paper. Yo-yo took it from her hand. The image was of a figure, light shining off of them in various hues, but mostly pinks.

Daisy and Robbie emerged from the hallway and joined May and Yo-yo at the landing. “That looks like her. Rainbow Brite, glowstick girl, whatever you want to call her,” Daisy said, pointing out what everyone was thinking. “Okay, so we weren’t hallucinating. That’s a relief.”

“So what?” Robbie cut in. “It could just be a drawing. Doesn’t mean anything except for the fact that the subject is a glowing teenager.”

“Wait,” Yo-yo said, looking closer at the paper. “The corner, it’s signed and dated. David Ellerh, 1986. That girl was definitely born after 1986, but the artist, he wrote this.” Yo-yo held up the book.

“Great,” Daisy groaned. “That means we’re either dealing with an ageless glowstick, or multiple glowsticks, as well as a cult. Real fun.”

“I think we’ve found all we can here,” May said. “Let’s take this back to HQ.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait for updating. I had schoolwork. However, my school has been canceled for the rest of the year, so that shouldn't be an issue. I uploaded a short Deanoru one-shot if you want more of them.


	7. Crying, Coffee, and Cap'n Crunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As S.H.I.E.L.D. gathers information, the Runaways recover at the Yorkeses'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i'm back

Daisy sat in front of her computer on the Zephyr, going over the footage from their conflict on the hill, waiting for the software to find face matches for the kids. On another screen to her right, she had pulled up the Church of Gibborum’s official website. She had skimmed the page, but she hadn’t yet found a connection. The computer beeped, alerting Daisy that face matches had been found. Names popped up next to five of the kids, but the computer hadn’t found anything for glowstick girl. Daisy sighed. Her light must have caused interference with the cameras, and of course, the van’s surveillance had been turned off when she still looked normal. However, she still had five names to work with, so she pulled up their files.

“Hey.” May stood behind Daisy, who hadn’t even noticed her approach. “You find anything?”

"Yeah, I got names for five of the kids, I’m running background checks now, but I don’t have results for the glowy one,” Daisy replied.

“You need any help?”

Daisy was a little surprised by May’s question, but she did have a lot of information to sift through. “You can look through the website for the church on that monitor if you want to, I haven’t read anything helpful yet, but there has to be something.”

She sat down in the chair next to Daisy and they worked in silence together until May found an old picture in the archive of the church’s leader, Leslie Dean, and her daughter Karolina. The girl in the picture was the same one they had seen on the hill. 

“Daisy,” May said, flicking her eyes back to the screen. “I found her.”

“Karolina Dean… that does sound familiar.” Daisy searched up her name on Google instead of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s in-depth search engine as she had with the other kids. Immediately, she found the results she had been looking for. 

“Ha! I knew those names were familiar!” May looked thoroughly confused, so Daisy backed up and started over. “When I was in L.A. after… you know, the news kept running this story about some runaway kids who were wanted for murder, kidnapping, you know?” 

“Daisy, you don’t mean-”

“Yep, that’s them. But apparently they were falsely accused so…” Daisy trailed off. May narrowed her eyes, clearly not completely convinced. “Come on May, it’s not like we haven’t been falsely accused and arrested before. These kids actually seem pretty cool.”

May gave a slight sigh and stood up. “I’m going to go get something to eat, do you want anything?”

Daisy’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Can I have a coffee, and like peanut butter Cap’n Crunch if we have any?” May rolled her eyes, remembering all those mornings on the bus when Daisy and Phil would eat Cap’n Crunch for breakfast. While Daisy’s favorite was peanut butter, Phil had always been fond of Oops! All Berries. She left for the kitchen with a slight, wistful smile on her face.

*****

Gert had been avoiding her parents all night. Whenever they walked into the room, she started talking to Chase, or excused herself under the guise of going to get food. Everyone else had gone to bed almost an hour ago, but Gert sat in a chair on the porch, staring at the stars but not really seeing them. Chase had asked her if she needed anything, but she’d waved him away and said she’d be back up soon. She’d needed some time alone to think. Being back in her parents’ house brought back feelings she’d been able to ignore at the Hostel. She didn’t know how to even begin to forgive her parents for all the atrocities they’d committed, and that had been made more difficult after they had helped save the world. 

She’d been so deep in thought that she didn’t notice Dale and Stacey come out onto the porch behind her, jumping when Stacey said her name. 

“Gert, sweetie, we know it’s hard for you to be back here. We know you’ve never really forgiven us for, well, everything.”

“We just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Dale added. “I mean, you’re probably not, but‒”

“Just know that we’re here if you need us. I’m not expecting you to forgive us or anything, but we’ll be here.” 

Gert nodded nearly imperceptibly, still looking at the sky. Stacey turned to leave, then stopped. “Make sure you get some sleep, it’s late.” Then she and Dale went back inside, the screen door not completely shutting, just like it had since she was a kid. She sat there for a few more minutes until her eyes began to flutter, the effects of night’s events just now reaching her. She stood up and went inside.

*****

In one of the Yorkeses’ guest bedrooms, Karolina watched Nico as she slept, the steady in-and-out of her breathing the only thing keeping Karolina sane. It had been hours since the showdown on the hill and Nico still hadn’t woken up. The last time something like this had happened was after the AWOL and his crew had invaded the Hostel, but Nico hadn’t slept for this long afterwards. Karolina stood up from her chair by the side of the bed and started pacing back and forth across the room. What if Nico never woke up? What if the darkness had taken over again? What if she was dying right now and there was nothing she could do to stop it and—

Karolina was startled out of her panic by a loud noise in the hallway. She opened the door to see Chase once again on the floor. “What did you do this time?” she asked flatly, trying to hide the fact that she was on the brink of tears. 

Chase clumsily stood up. “I was going to go find Gert, and then I tripped on this stupid rug,” he said, his foot pointing at the offending piece of fabric. She smiled, laughing, but her laughter quickly turned into choked sobs. Chase saw the sudden shift in her feelings and wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back, burying her head in his shoulder. 

“I’m scared Chase. It’s never been this bad before and I don't know what to do.” Her voice wavered as she spoke.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. Nico’s strong, if anyone can get through this it’s her.” Chase led her back into the bedroom and they both sat down at the end of the bed, careful not to disturb Nico. They sat together in silence, Karolina’s breaths becoming steadier.

“Karolina,” Chase whispered. “I’m going to go. Are you going to be okay?” Karolina nodded, pulling up her knees and hugging them to her chest. Chase left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

He stepped into the hallway and smiled when he saw Gert coming up the stairs. He waited for her to reach him and they started toward Gert’s room. Chase took her hand. “You’re okay, right? I was worried about you.” 

“Yeah. I just needed a minute.” She paused. “I talked to my parents. Or listened, I guess. They really want me to forgive them, but I don’t think I can, not yet at least.”

Chase squeezed her hand. “And you don’t have to. But I’ll be here if you need to talk about, you know, anything.”

Gert looked up at Chase. “Thank you.”

*****

Karolina hadn’t moved since Chase left. She hugged her knees tighter, trying to block out her thoughts, to stop herself from worrying. Eventually, after deciding she should at least try to get some sleep, she carefully laid down, trying not to shake the bed too much. However, at her shift, Nico groaned. Karolina sat back up, startled and relieved. She ran her fingers through Nico’s hair, hoping she’d wake up soon.

“Karolina?” Nico croaked.

Karolina smiled. “I’m here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, it's been a crazy year. But after like 9 months, I'm working on this story again. I don't know where I'm going with this yet, but I'm excited. And thank you, to everyone who's been leaving post notifications over the past year, almost, I wouldn't be back here without you.


	8. A Very Chaotic Family Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My single lesbian ass tries to write relationship fluff. Also, the Runaways have some important conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings! I've returned! Today I bring you my longest chapter so far, which is only like 2000 words but it's more than usual okay.

When Karolina woke up, the room was filled with sunlight. She must have forgotten to close the blinds last night. She rolled over, happy to see Nico still sleeping beside her. Although Karolina considered herself to be a fairly early riser, Nico would often be gone before she woke up back at the Hostel. 

Nico shifted in her sleep. They hadn’t talked much last night. It was clear that Nico was still drained, and she’d gone back to sleep not that much later. Karolina, however, had laid awake for much longer. Although she knew Nico was going to be okay, she still couldn’t stop herself from worrying. The life they were living wasn’t safe, exactly. Both of them had almost died several times. They’d come out mostly unscathed so far, but how long would their luck hold. All Karolina wanted to do was get them both as far away from LA as possible, somewhere that they might be safe. 

But she knew what Nico would say. They had to stay and figure out what the actual fuck was going on because that’s just how their lives were at this point. Karolina sighed, staring at the ceiling. She laid like that for either a few minutes or an hour, brought back to reality when she felt Nico move closer to her. Karolina moved onto her side, and her eyes met Nico’s. 

“You’re awake.” Karolina’s lips curved into a smile. 

“Yea- yeah,” Nico said, her voice quiet and raspy. 

Karolina pulled Nico tight against her chest, grateful to have her conscious and safe. Nico’s hair brushed against her face, but Karolina didn’t mind. All too soon, Nico pulled back. 

“I have to tell you something.” She stopped for a breath, trying to figure out the right words. “After I got us off the hill, I had a dream. Well, not a dream, it was real. I think. I don’t know.”

“Like the ones you had of Morgan?”

“Yeah. Exactly like that. And we all know how that turned out.” Nico looked away.

“Hey,” Karolina said, cupping Nico’s cheek. Their eyes met again. “You know I’m here for you. Whatever it is, you can tell me. We’ve gotten through this before, we can do it again.” Karolina knew last time had cost lives and a complete reset of the timeline, but Nico didn’t need to be reminded of that right now.

Nico took another deep breath before starting. “I was in a dark room, I couldn’t see anything. Then there was light, and a woman with a weird accent told me… she told me my darkness wasn’t from Morgan. I still have it in me. I think I’ve known for a while, but I didn’t want it to be true.” She paused, biting her lip, which Karolina knew meant there was more she hadn’t told her. 

“What is it?” 

“She knows about you, Karolina!” Nico had said that louder than she’d meant to; she hoped no one else in the house had heard. Her voice echoed for a moment before fading. Karolina looked startled, but she stayed quiet, waiting for Nico to finish. 

“Yesterday she mentioned you and I, didn’t think much of it, but I saw her again last night. After we both went to sleep. She said she needed my help, that she was trapped in the Dark Dimension and I was the only one who could help her get out. And if I didn’t… if I didn’t she said she would hurt you.” Nico buried her face in Karolina’s shoulder, trying and failing to hold back her choked sobs. Karolina felt her tears start to soak her shirt. “And I can’t let that happen, Karolina, you know I can’t,” Nico said, her voice muffled.

Karolina didn’t have the words to respond, so she just rubbed circles on Nico’s back instead, holding her tight, letting her know without words that she was there and safe.

*****

Gert, Chase, Molly, and Alex sat at the dining room table, eating the pancakes Dale and Stacey had made. Gert glanced over at the clock for the thousandth time in the last few minutes, just as it turned from 9:23 to 9:24. The others at the table were picking at their food, waiting rather impatiently for the other two members of their small family to join them. 

Molly stabbed her pancake with her fork, and then pushed her chair back, standing up from the table. Three sets of eyes looked at her, questioning. “This is taking too long! We need a plan, like, now, so I’m just going to go get them.” 

Gert and Chase exchanged a look. “Molly,” Gert started, “maybe‒”

“No. Stop right there. I’m just going to knock.” Molly left the table, starting toward the stairs. “They’re probably just sleeping,” she called over her shoulder. “I hope they’re just sleeping,” she murmured to herself.

Back at the table, the other three stifled their laughter. “I swear if those two scar my sister,” Gert said.

“She’ll probably be fine,” Chase replied. “Nico used enough magic on that hill to knock her out for a week.”

“Yeah, but‒”

“And suddenly, I am no longer interested in this conversation,” Alex interrupted, standing up and going to put his dishes in the sink. “I’m going to go look at data or something, bye.”

He left Gert and Chase alone, both of whom were laughing again. “Oh, Wilder,” Chase said. “He makes it too easy.”

“He really does.” Gert smiled, adjusting her glasses. 

Chase’s amused expression became more somber. “So, you’re sure you’re okay right. I know we sort of talked last night, but if there’s anything else you wanted to say…”

“I wish I could say that I know what to do, and that we can move on, but I can’t. I still need more time, and honestly, the sooner we get out of here the better.” She drank the last of her orange juice, before putting her dishes next to Alex’s in the sink. “I miss our house,” she said as she leaned against the counter, looking back at Chase, who was still sitting at the table.

“Me too,” he replied. “I miss my car.”

“Hey, last time I checked, that isn’t just your car.”

“Last time I checked, I was the one that fixed it up, so I think I can claim rights to it.”

“Sure, whatever,” Gert conceded, rolling her eyes, ignoring the smirk Chase sent back at her. They might have lost everything, again, but at least they still had each other.

*****

Molly tentatively knocked on the door of the room Nico and Karolina were staying in. “Guys? Are you good in there?”

“Yeah, Molly. You can come in,” Karolina replied, her voice quieted by the door in between them. When Molly opened the door, Karolina was sitting on the side of the bed, while Nico was still under the covers, shielding her eyes from the sunlight that streamed through the window.

“You know it’s like ten, right?”

“Yeah, ten more minutes,” Nico groaned, pulling her girlfriend’s pillow over her face. 

Karolina gave Molly an apologetic look, standing up to walk over to her. “Did you need something?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Molly said, remembering why she was there. “We kind of need to make a plan, and we need you guys to help us because we don’t have any ideas.”

“No you don’t,” Nico said, muffled by the pillow.

“I’ll deal with this,” Karolina told Molly, turning back. 

“Wait,” Molly said, before raising her voice so Nico couldn’t possibly ignore her. “Nico! There’s pancakes!”

Nico shot up quickly, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Wait, pancakes? Dale and Stacey’s blueberry pancakes?” she asked, stumbling over her words. Molly smiled. She knew it would work because they had been Nico’s favorite when they were kids.

“Thank you,” Karolina whispered before shutting the door.

*****

Fifteen minutes later, the Runaways had scattered themselves throughout the Yorkeses’ living room, attempting to make a plan. As per usual, it wasn’t going well. Dale and Stacey had taken the hint that they weren’t wanted, and left for “work,” although Gert and Molly knew that was a lie. Nico was happily eating the pancakes she’d reheated, staying uncharacteristically silent while her friends argued around her. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Molly asked rather loudly. “We have to go fight and take our home back. We’re going to have to make them leave us alone.”

“Molly,” Gert said. “As much as I would love that, it wouldn’t work. We can’t just force them out, the fight on the hill didn’t exactly go well.”

“Gert’s right,” Chase added. 

Molly rolled her eyes. “Of course you’d side with her,” she muttered, crossing her arms.

Chase gave her an offended look. “Hey, I can think for myself. And, as Gert said, they’re powerful too, and they have more resources. If we’re going to beat them, it can’t be head-on. We have to be smart about this.”

“What if we didn’t have to fight them at all?” Everyone turned to look at Karolina. “I think we’re on the same side here. We didn’t exactly talk on the hill, it was probably just a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, a misunderstanding that almost got us killed,” Gert said under her breath.

“I’m sorry Karolina, they are like terrorists and literal Nazis,” Alex said, not looking up as he continued to scroll on his computer.

“Oh, come on,” Karolina replied. “We were murderers and kidnappers.”

“You do have a point,” Gert said. “But I generally don’t tend to trust government agents so forgive me if I’m not super excited to go with your plan.”

“Nico,” Chase said. “You haven’t said much. And you’re usually the one talking in these meetings.”

“I’m sorry, I’m eating, she replied, her mouth full. 

Karolina sighed. “He’s right, Nico. You have to tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Molly asked.

Nico looked around the room and realized there was no way out of this. Karolina grabbed her hand and squeezed it, reassuring her. Nico let out a breath and told the story of her dreams again, leaving nothing out, not even her threat.

“So, we have another problem, you’re welcome,” she said as she finished. No one spoke for a moment.

“Well that’s bad,” Chase said. Gert elbowed him. “But, we can fix it, right?”

“Except I don’t really have a choice, now do I, Chase?” Nico retorted. 

“We’ll find a way, we always do.” Karolina wrapped her free arm around Nico’s shoulders.

Nico pulled away, to Karolina’s shock. “Except every other way could get you killed. This is our only option.”

“Guys,” Molly said, trying to calm everyone down. “We don’t have to deal with this right now.”

“We can just wait until she asks you to do whatever she needs you to,” Gert added. “We’ll find a solution then. And by then we’ll hopefully have solved our current issue.”

“Yeah, sorry, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” All the eyes in the room went to Alex. He looked up from his computer. “I think they’re connected.” His friends seemed skeptical, but they didn’t say anything. “Think about it. This giant portal, which, may I remind you, looked a lot like the Dark Dimension portals we’ve seen before, appeared, and right after that Nico started having these dreams.”

“That's actually pretty obvious now that I think about it,” Nico remarked quietly, which prompted a smug smile from Alex. “She needed that breach in order to get to me.”

“Exactly.”

“So instead of just fighting a whole bunch of highly trained government agents, we also have to deal with yet another evil lady from the Dark Dimension. Amazing,” Gert said.

“But we might not have to fight them,” Karolina reminded her. “They might be on our side. They could help us fight her!”

“Yeah, and how are we going to convince them to do that.”

“That might not be a problem,” Alex said, turning his screen toward his friends. A notification took up the center of his screen.

'Hey kids.   
This is Agent Daisy Johnson.   
We’re not going to hurt you,   
we just need your help.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point I know better than to make promises about when a chapter's going to be out, but probably soon-ish?


End file.
